10 Tallest Buildings in the World 2018

Here is a list of tallest skyscrapers in the world.

The buildings are ranked by standard height (architectural height), with other heights like roof height or total height for reference.
Buildings that are under construction but have already topped out or have surpassed certain heights are also included. Sightseeing towers and buildings which are being built that have yet reach to certain heights are not counted.
For sightseeing towers, see tallest telecom towers. For buildings under construction that are not topped out, see Tallest ongoing skyscraper projects.

NOTE: Because of the rapid development of skyscrapers, things are subject to change, the content below will get updated time to time, updates occur on an irregular basis, usually when some new skyscrapers reach a height over one of the skyscrapers listed below.
The last updating was done by August 10, 2018, please note the content below is all based on that time.

Burj Khalifa has been the tallest building of the world by any measurement since its completion in 2009, it is estimated that it can still hold this title for the next 4 years, until then it will be surpassed by either Jeddah Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia or Dubai Creek Tower which located at a site only miles away from Burj Khalifa.

Shanghai Tower was completed in the beginning of 2015, since then it has been the tallest building in China.

Shanghai Tower has a multi-floor observation deck opened to public at its 118th and 119th floor, as of 2018 it's the second tallest observation deck in the world, only after Burj Khalifa's At The Top SKY. For more details check out the guide to visiting Shanghai Tower observation deck.

Since the spire of Ping An Financial Center in Shenzhen was cancelled, which resulted in the building ends up being 599 meters tall (33 meters shorter than Shanghai Tower), and the height of Wuhan Greenland Center is likely reduced, it can be sure that Shanghai Tower can hold the title of China's tallest building for a quite long time. The tower will only not be surpassed until the completion of Suzhou Zhongnan Center, of which the construction has suspended for many years.

Ping An Finance Center was once designed to be built to 660 meters with a spire and then set to becomes the tallest building of the country, however there suddenly came out a flight issue, forcing the height limited to be under 600 meters, so no spire ever built atop its peak. Same thing had previously happened on Canton Tower, which has a similar height with it, the difference is that Canton Tower's spire was cut shorter after its completion.

This tower has structurally topped out, a diamond shape structure is awaiting for installing atop the building, its current height is around 590 meters, though it's still several meters left to be topped out, the current height can still make it the fifth tallest building of the world.

Lotte World Tower is the tallest building in South Korea. The tower opened to the public on April 3rd, 2017, it has a total of 123 floors above ground, a multiple-floor observatory occupies the uppermost 7 floors of the tower, by contrast, in most cases the observation decks on skyscrapers only occupy one or two floors.

One World Trade Center is the tallest building in New York City and west hemisphere. Its roof height is 417 meters which just same as the North Tower of original World Trade Center, but spire is longer, making its total height to be 546 meters and 541 meters (1776 ft) by architectural height. This height is originated from the year of 1776 when United States Declaration of Independence was signed, many New York lovers complain that 1776 ft should be the roof height, 417 m is too short among today's tallest buildings.

This tower is owned and named after Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and was developed by New World Development, it's the first near-megatall building named after Chow Tai Fook, currently another same size tower also named after Chow Tai Fook is being built in Tianjin, a 644m megatall tower is planned by Chow Tai Fook to be built in Wuhan.

China Zun Tower is also known as its formal name CITIC Plaza, as it will largely serve as the headquarters of CITIC, a state-owned corporation. In fact the nickname China Zun Tower is more widely used, China Zun was a sort of vessel used in ancient China, the shape of China Zun Tower is inspired by China Zun. Once built the tower will become the tallest building in the capital city of China. The tower structurally topped out in July 2017 and fully topped out at 528 meters one month later becoming the 10th tallest building in the world.

The buildings listed above are top 10 tallest buildings of the world, you might be surprised that many notable buildings you familiar with are not listed, the rapid development of skyscrapers worldwide has made those buildings dropped out from the top 10, below are the buildings succeed the top 10 tallest buildings with the heights a bit shorter than the top 10. Since some of these buildings are still under construction and growing fast, the rank could change frequently, for convenience we don't provide the serial numbers for buildings listed below.

Taipei 101 was the tallest building of the world by architectural height from 2004 to 2009, today the tower is still the tallest building built on an earthquake zone. The appearance of the tower was inspired by the pagodas of ancient China, the main portion of the tower is comprised of 8 stacked large segments, each has 8 floors, for the number 8 is a sign of prosperity in Chinese culture.

Shanghai World Financial Center was once the tallest building by roof height during 2008 to 2009, however in fact it has never been taller than Burj Khalifa, it gets that title just because of the fact that Burj Khalifa was still under construction by that time. It's hard to believe that the tower is now out of top 10 tallest buildings in the world in less than 10 years.

International Commercial Center is the tallest building in Hong Kong, unlike other skyscrapers in Hong Kong it situated in Kowloon island not Hong Kong island, maybe due to the scarcity of land in Hong Kong Island, this can be seen that the newly-built New World Trade Center is also built in Kowloon.

Wuhan Greenland Center is a megatall skyscraper being built on the waterfront of Yangtz River in Wuhan, China. It will become china's tallest building, surpassing Shanghai Tower by 4 meters, not only so, the tower will have world's highest accessible floor at 610 meters off the ground and is planned to be an observation deck, which will become highest observation deck in the world. The tower was estimated to complete in 2019, but the construction has suspended starting in early 2018, and it is said the planned height is likely scaled down to 472 meters.

Lakhta Center

Standard height: 462 meters

Floor count: 86

Year top out: 2018

Uses: Office, Sports Center

Location: St. Petersburg

Lakhta Center is a skyscraper being built in St. Petersburg, Russia, it's the first supertall skyscraper in the city, the building has structurally topped out, and has already become the tallest building in Russia and Europe.

Vincom Landmark 81

Standard height & Roof height: 461.5 meters

Floor count: 81

Year top out: 2018

Uses: Residential, Hotel, Observation

Location: Ho Chi Minh City

Vincom Lankmark 81 is currently the tallest building in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, it is built as the centerpiece of a high-end mixed-use urban area called Vinhomes Central Park. The tower will have a multi-story observation deck at its uppermost floors. The building is still under construction but had fully topped out in April 2018.

Petronas Towers were the tallest buildings in the world by architectural height from 1998 to 2004. The tower 2 of the twin towers has an observation deck on 86th floor, the skybridge between two towers also contains a smaller observatory, for details see visiting Petronas Towers Observation Deck.

Changsha International Finance Square

Standard height: 452 meters Floor count: 88

Year top out: 2016 Location: Changsha

Uses: Office

Changsha International Finance Square

Topped out in 2016, Changsha International Finance Square has become the tallest building in Changsha, a title was once believed to be given to Sky City, a project that touted to be the next tallest building in the world.

Suzhou International Finance Square

Suzhou IFS Tower seen under construction

Standard height: 450 meters

Floor count: 92

Year top out: 2016

Uses: Office, Hotel, Residences, Retail

Location: Suzhou

As its name suggests, the tower is being developed by the same developer which behind the ChangshaInternational Finance Square, in the same time they are also developing other skyscrapers with same name in other cities in China, but not as tall as these two towers.

Below are towers that rank 21st to 30th in height in the world.

Zifeng Tower

Standard height: 450 meters Roof height: 381 meters

Floor count: 89Uses: Office, Hotel, Restaurant, Retail

Year built: 2010 Location: Nanjing

Zi Feng Tower

Touted as 450 meters tall, it doesn't appear like that at all, even unlike a 381m tower since that upper part is so skinny, however it does have the habitable floor right below the spire and is being used as a restaurant.

The Exchange 106 is a supertall skyscraper being built in Kuala Lumpur, the building is not far from the Petronas Towers, it had been built to an altitude that higher than Petronas Towers' roof in December 2017, and will remain the tallest building in the city and the whole Southeast Asia by roof height for a few years.

Also known as it‘s former name Sears Tower. Willis Tower was world's tallest building from 1974 to 1998, it had holding that title for 24 years, such a long time is only second to Empire State Building, which had been the tallest building of the world for 40 years. Willis Tower lost that title in 1998 when Petronas Towers surpassed it by their spires while the roof of Willis Tower is still higher. Willis Tower had been the tallest building in America since its completion in 1974, until One World Trade Center surpassed it in 2014, however, its roof is still the highest in America.

KK100

Standard height & Roof height: 442 meters Floor count: 100

Year built: 2011Location: Shenzhen

Uses: Office, Hotel, Restaurant, Retail

KK 100 Tower

KK 100 had been the tallest building in Shenzhen since 2010 when it surpassed Shun Hing Plaza, now it had been surpassed by Ping An International Financial Center. A restaurant is opened to public on the top floor, offering great views of the cityscape.

Guangzhou International Finance Center briefly known as Guangzhou IFC, it was the tallest building in Guangzhou from 2010 to 2016, now the tower is the second tallest building in the city, only after Chow Tai Fook Center. If broadcasting tower is counted, Guangzhou IFC is the 3rd tallest building in the city and the 20th tallest building in the world.

Wuhan Center is currently the tallest building in Wuhan, it's the first tower built for a development of a new twin towers project in Wuhan, the twin towers will stand 438 meters tall, once completed they will become the second tallest twin towers in the world, and tallest measured to roof.

Once completed this tower will overtake New York's 432 Park Ave to become the tallest residential building in the world, but this title will also be replaced by World One in Mumbai several months later.

432 Park Ave

432 Park Ave

Standard height: 426 meters

Floor count: 96

Year built: 2016

Uses: Residences

Location: New York City

The tower became the world's tallest residential building after its completion in the beginning of 2016, and it's also taller than One World Trade Center by roof height.

Chicago Trump World Hotel & Tower

Chicago Trump Tower

Standard height: 423 meters

Roof height: 356 meters

Floor count: 98

Year built: 2009

Uses: Hotel, Residences, Retail

Location: Chicago

This tower was developed by Donald Trump, who is now the president of America, the tower was first intended to be built as the tallest building of the world by that time with a height of 457 meters, 5 meters taller than the Petronas Towers. The height was decreased due to the safety concerns since the destruction of World Trade Center Twin Towers.

Although being touted as a 423-meter-tower, its roof height is only 356 meters, plus unlike One World Trade Center, its spire is extremely slender to be picked out, thus it's not fair to rank it as 24th tallest.

The tallest building of China before 2008, now it's the 3rd tallest building in Shanghai. In July 2016, a new fenceless outdoor platform on 88th floor opened to tourists as an addition to the indoor observation deck.

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